NEWTON, Mass. – Mount Ida came from three points down at intermission and were able to hold off Emmanuel College for a 55-48 victory in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's basketball action on Thursday afternoon at Mount Ida Athletic Center.
The Mustangs (4-7, 2-3 GNAC) shot 15-for-18 from the free-throw line (83.3%) in the second half, including knocking down twelve straight from the charity stripe in the final three minutes to ice the victory.
Four of those free-throws were made by junior guard Everett Ramirez (Los Angeles, Calif.), who led all scorers with 14 points and helped Mount Ida tie the game at 41 under five minutes with a steal and two layups.
The Mustangs also saw Treace Macklin (Brockton, Mass.)and Ethan Dujon (Warwick, R.I.) score in double figures, with Macklin scoring 12 points and adding five rebounds and Dujon pitching in ten points, four rebounds, a steal and a resounding block.
Alex Myers (Long Beach, Calif.) was the only Saint in double figures, with ten points, including 3-for-6 from behind the three-point line. Myers hit from deep after Ramirez's layups to twice help the Saints retake the lead, but the Mustangs tied the game with two free-throws from Macklin and used a 10-1 run over the final 2:04 to put the game away, with all 11 points in that time-period coming from the free-throw line.
A low-scoring first half saw Mount Ida lead by as much as six points (13-7), but Kyle Smith (Los Angeles, Calif.) helped the visitors take a 24-21 lead.
The Mustangs got their noses back in front early in the second half, only to have John Clay (Westport, Mass.) (six points, eight rebounds) and the Saints re-take a three-point advantage at 30-27 just over five minutes into the frame.
Ramirez hit from long range and Macklin tipped in his own rebound to help Mount Ida reclaim the lead, but Brandon Jones (Windsor, Conn.), who had seven points in the game, put Emmanuel back ahead by four, 41-37 with 5:08 left, before Ramirez and the Mustangs went to work with the winning run.
Smith had five points and four rebounds, while Josh Welles (Philadelphia, Pa.) added eight points for Emmanuel.
Sophomore Michael Joseph (Windsor, Conn.) added 6 points and 6 rebounds for Mount Ida, and Kenny Jean (Dorchester, Mass.) had four and four, to go with two assists.
The Mustangs will be back in conference action on Saturday afternoon when they travel across Newton to GNAC rivals Lasell for a 3:00 PM matchup.
The Saints (2-9, 0-5 GNAC) will be in the confines of their home court at the same time to entertain Norwich.